galactic_dev ([info]galactic_dev) wrote,
@ 2007-10-30 14:49:00
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wanted: funny book
Can anyone recommend a good funny book?

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[info]patguy
2007-10-30 09:19 pm UTC (link)
I've been enjoying Terry Pratchett's Discworld books lately. You might also like Cintra Wilson's Colors Insulting to Nature. Of syuff I've read recently, Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim is very funny, and so is Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End.

But we both know your sense of humor isn't isomorphic to mine. YMMV.

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[info]galactic_dev
2007-10-30 11:37 pm UTC (link)
Can you tell me a bit about the Amis and Ferris?

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[info]patguy
2007-10-31 05:23 am UTC (link)
You could read all about them in my reviews on Doug's web site!

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[info]mle292
2007-10-30 09:24 pm UTC (link)
Naked by David Sedaris. Anything by David Sedaris.

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[info]autumnsfolly
2007-10-31 01:50 am UTC (link)
Agreed. I love David Sedaris.

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[info]capthek
2007-10-30 09:33 pm UTC (link)
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both have funny books out.

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[info]dawn_pillsbury
2007-10-30 09:34 pm UTC (link)
Pratchett and Gaiman's "Good Omens." Also, Douglas Adam's "Last Chance to See."

Of course, given your sense of humor (i.e. South Park), those might be a bit subtle for you. *g*

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1 out of 2 ain't bad
[info]galactic_dev
2007-10-30 11:36 pm UTC (link)
I read Last Chance to See and enjoyed it. I don't like Pratchett or Gaiman, though.

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Re: 1 out of 2 ain't bad
[info]dawn_pillsbury
2007-10-31 01:17 am UTC (link)
The melding of the two tastes of Adams much more than either of their singular works. [info]akaba read it recently and enjoyed it.

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Re: 1 out of 2 ain't bad
[info]akaba
2007-10-31 01:41 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I tried to read Good Omens in college and didn't like it, then chortled heavily at it on a recent plane ride. I think the most important thing is to read it when you are looking for a light read. The first time I saw Best in Show I thought it was awful, because humor isn't funny when you're in a bad mood and what's left behind is often dumb.

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[info]akaba
2007-10-31 01:49 am UTC (link)
Funny books I can recall, including ones I know you've read. Some are funnier than others, but all made me laugh aloud at least once.

1) A primate's memoir (Robert Sapolsky)
2) Thunderbold kid (Bill Bryson)
3) Good omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)
4) Last Chance to See (Douglas Adams)
5) How I paid for college: a novel of sex, theft, frienship and musical theater (Marc Acito)
6) Bridget Jones' Diary (Helen Fielding)
7) Ken's Guide to the Bible (Ken Smith)
8) Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and Hitchhiker series (Douglas Adams)
9) Zodiac (Neal Stephenson)
10) Tuf Voyaging (George RR Martin)

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[info]vorrant
2007-10-31 02:34 am UTC (link)
Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb
Cosmic Banditos by A.C. Weisbecker (ex-patriot Americans in South America discover Quantum Physics while working for a local drug lord)
Illegal Aliens by Phil Phoglio and Nick Pollata
Rule No. 1 by Rupert Morgan
Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede by Bradley Denton
Anything by Bill Fitzhugh, esecially Heart Siezure and Pest Control

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[info]purplesquirrel
2007-10-31 03:58 am UTC (link)
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Class: A Guide Through the American Status System

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[info]revdj
2007-10-31 02:38 pm UTC (link)
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Go to the used bookstore to get: Dimension of Miracles: Robert Sheckley or any of his early short story collections (pre 1975)

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[info]galactic_dev
2007-10-31 04:40 pm UTC (link)
I read Hitchikers in junior high and enjoyed it. I've been unable to find Dimension of Miracles, as it has been on my book list for some time now.

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[info]ouraboros
2007-10-31 09:16 pm UTC (link)
If you can find it in a used store, and are in the mood for biting historical satire (ok, so I happen to think _Sweeney Todd_ is the funniest musical evar, so you're properly calibrated to my tastes):

_Monday Begins on Saturday_, Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (they're Russian -- so again, you've been warned that this isn't sitcom mindless stuff)

Also I'm surprised no one mentioned here Mark Twain, Bill Bryson (he writes a lot of funny travel stories, but also recently, a lot of science books written for the layman), Dave Barry, Garrison Keillor.

My current read: _Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats_, Steve Ettlinger.

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[info]ouraboros
2007-10-31 09:20 pm UTC (link)
oh, and I was racking my brain trying to remember him: Calvin Trillin. Lots from him, but _Alice Let's Eat_ is emblematic for him. Humour's of the dry, gentle variety.

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Non-fiction
[info]rudbeckia
2007-11-01 09:43 pm UTC (link)
For you..."The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said," by Ross and Kathryn Petras. Get it, then wait for a quiet evening at home with L, and read some of it out loud.

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It's fun, man. Like FUN, dig?
[info]ouraboros
2007-11-01 10:44 pm UTC (link)
Oh! how could i forget the classic one to read out loud to family during holiday cooking:

_The Fan Man_, William Kotzwinkle

It helps to read this out loud in a breathless, drugged out manner, just like the main character anti-hero, Horse Badorties.

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